Each year the wintering staff get two weeks away from base on training
trips - one before Midwinter and one after. I had my trip in early April
with glorious weather, not long after the ship left. Six of us travelled
the 90km or so overland to Carvajal, a former British research station
(it was called Adelaide originally) now used by the Chileans. Actually,
the Chileans haven't been there for three years now, so the place has a
rather spooky and abandoned feel to it.The aerial photo was taken out of the window of the Dash-7 during a
training flight.The passport stamp is one of the rarest in the world - it's in the Base
Commander's office drawer at Carvajal. As (at present) only around 10
people a year travel to Carvajal from Rothera (the others get stuck in
bad weather) it's pretty rarely used! The writing translates as "Chilean
Air Force - Chilean Antarctic Territory - Scientific Base Luis Carvajal".